Greetings all! Let's get started...how's that for cutting to the chase?!

WWE is all about sports entertainment and Monday night RAW was heavy on the ENTERTAINMENT phase of the equation.

RAW Country was an intriguing theme for the WWE's flagship broadcast but I wasn't sure what to expect.

Was told that @JCLayfield "knocked" me on the air but I missed it. I must not have been paying attention. (See what I did there?) Nonetheless It will likely be said at the end of the day that John was merely being "in character."

BTW is JBL really a villain?

Or am I?

Or does being a villain or a fan favorite matter any more in the world of TV rasslin?

Is Randy Orton a fan favorite or a villain? One can't be both, as a rule....but, of course, I'm out of touch with today's product.

I think that I may have missed the class on the invisible line between good and evil. In real life that may be true but last I looked pro wrestling on TV isn't real life.

Congrats to Big E Langston for becoming the IC Champion. I wish Big E nothing but success. The former Iowa Hawkeye Defensive Tackle is a beast of an athlete with great integrity. One can't get too many like him in any locker room. I got to know "E" well in NXT. Fans have loved him there for a long time at Full Sail Arena.

Hopefully many of today's impatient fans will allow Big E to continue to evolve as he's not even close to reaching his potential.

Thought the Big Show vs. Ryback match was surprisingly good.

By the time this match had ended, I had seen enough clotheslines during the first three matches to last me the balance of the three hours that I stayed tuned.

If the Real Americans can get on a true roll, they would help WWE overall and the tag team scene in general.

Miz is a better TV wrestling villain than a hero.

Ziggler vs. Sandow in their Broadway Brawl turned into anything but and was essentially a comedy segment based on the soundtrack.

Great seeing Xavier Woods get a shot on RAW. Another really high quality student athlete who's close to getting his PHD. Really an engaging young man to be around with tons of charisma. I'm hopeful that his tenure will be productive in WWE as he is a great representative for the company on many fronts. It's admirable that Woods has continued his education the past few years while still competing and attempting to earn a roster spot in WWE while residing in NXT. Dr. Woods is a great promo talent if allowed to use large aspects of himself in his TV persona.

Many unique personas got quality exposure in the final several minutes of RAW. It will be interesting to see of the newer guys in the 12 man tag who breaks from the pack and makes their mark in WWE main events.

It's obvious that Daniel Bryan and CM Punk are 'over' and could be even more viable and productive quite easily.

Good to see Rey Mysterio back and hopefully healthy or at least healthy enough to be able to be himself and perform to the level that his fans expect. WWE can really use Rey's star power and name identity.

Hard to believe that this was the final RAW prior to the Survivor Series and that another WWE PPV comes our way this Sunday from Boston.

Impressed with the WWE HOF panel that will be a part of the Survivor Series and hope that they are allowed the freedom to express themselves. If they are, then Mick Foley, Booker T and Bret hart could be awfully entertaining and informative. Hopefully WWE will trust these men's instincts and allow them to freelance while traveling the same direction.

Remember this....talents in pro wresting cannot get 'over' unless they get on a roll and are then involved in an ongoing, personal issue in a competitive environment.

Nice booking of one of my favorite TV shows 'Boardwalk Empire' this week as they prepare for their season finale this Sunday night on HBO. Sunday's episode was slower paced and set the stage for the proverbial 'hot tag' for Sunday's season finale where the death toll is likely to rise. Actually watched the 'next week' promo four times to try and pick up a 'spoiler.' It didn't work.

The folks at Showtime sent me a surprise box of the entire run of 'Dexter' shows on DVD. They are available now in store. I loved 'Dexter' and only started watching the last two seasons. Thanks, Showtime.

Doing some due diligence along with our team on perhaps doing a podcast. Chris Jericho starts his podcast this Thursday while my old pal Stone Cold is having a blast doing his podcast twice weekly. I'm interested in doing a podcast but need to hear more info.

I hope to have more info on my one man show, an Evening with Jim Ross, hopefully coming to New Orleans during WrestleMania week, soon.

I'm told Pat Patterson is writing his memoirs and after seeing much of Pat's photo collection from over his career I'm betting the book will be great. Pat has a tremendous sense of humor and was one of the best in ring performers ever along with being a tremendous wrestling strategist. Pat's journey as a gay man in a largely homophobic, alpha Caucasian male, good old boys network known as pro wrestling in the territory days is one of courage and conviction. I can't wait to read it.

I learned a great deal about the wrestling biz and life from Pat.

Had a good visit with Master James E Cornette today. It's always nice when he calls to catch up. I will be doing is podcast soon.

My Sooners are a 3.5 point underdog in Manhattan, Kansas this week as Oklahoma challenges K-State. Yep, I will be there. That's what 'retirement' is all about. Doing things one wants to do when they want to do them.

Alec Baldwin news coverage is getting to be a pain in the ass.

My leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy is Johnny Manziel of the Texas A&A Aggies. My "I can't believe no one is talking about him Heisman candidate" is AJ McCarron of Alabama without question. All this guy does is win national titles at the toughest position on the field playing for the most demanding coach in America.

Looks good that I will be in Vegas in December for UFC168. Should be a fun trip.

Grilled some chicken sausages and seasoned them with JR's Main Event Mustard and the damn things were so good that I couldn't sit still and eat them.

Comments

Submitted by DKinnunen on Tue, 11/19/2013 - 6:12am

Loved the Ziggler/Sandow match, I thought they made the most out of every inch of space that was available to them in a messy ring. This is how you grab a proverbial brass ring and run with it. I really liked the explanation given by the announce crew of Triple H telling them to go out there and entertain the people, as I think more talent should be given broader parameters in their matches to show their capabilities.
The 12-man tag was a half-hour of top-to-bottom solid wrestling, and was structured really well. Daniel Bryan spent nearly ten minutes in the ring getting his ass kicked before getting the tag to CM Punk, this gave the crowd a chance to build before it popped, which is something that time constraints don't allow for as often these days. Great match that worked to the benefit of all who were involved.

Submitted by noemiferguson on Tue, 11/19/2013 - 11:46am

didn't get a chance to watch the broadway brawl @jr but from what i've heard it was one lonnnng memenic meme to (gigggle) "j-e-f-f j-e-r-r-i-t-t" especially with the dolph "getar" shot i'll catch it tomorrow on mon2, anyways doing a podcast shouldn't be too hard i don't rekon? hopefully you'll have more info when it launches @jr

Submitted by SaturdayAt605 on Wed, 11/20/2013 - 5:08pm

The Ziggler/Sandow match left me sad, especially for Sandow. I hate the E part of WWE.
Looks like the Curtis Axel experiment is over. If he doesn't have the promo ability by now, he's probably not going to develop it. Looks like his deal with Heyman is over. Maybe Axel could replace Cesaro in The Real Americans when Cesaro turns babyface on Swagger so he could have Dirty Zeb do the talking.
I'm not sure how coachable promo ability is. It seems to me to be one of those things that either you have it or you don't. Workrate Mark will disagree, but it is WAY more important than in-ring ability. You have to be able to talk people into the seats, or out of their money for pay-per-views. You have to make them love you, or hate you. There's nothing sadder than when someone's music plays, they walk out, and everyone just sits there.